狩野山卜筆四季花鳥図屏風|Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
late 17th century
Medium
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Image: 59 in. x 12 ft. 1/2 in. (149.9 x 367 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1999
Accession Number
1999.204.1, .2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the exquisite *Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons*, a pair of six-panel folding screens crafted by Kano Sanboku in late 17th-century Japan during the Edo period (1615–1868). As a master of the prestigious Kano school—one of Japan's most influential painting lineages—Sanboku employed ink, vibrant colors, and shimmering gold leaf on paper to create these luxurious byōbu screens, which measure an impressive 59 inches high by over 12 feet wide when extended. Such screens were prized possessions in elite homes and castles, serving as movable room dividers that brought nature indoors. The...